Dennis Brown
Dennis Emmanuel Brown (1 February 1957 – 1 July 1999) was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a subgenre of reggae. Bob Marley cited Brown as his favourite singer, dubbing him "The Crown Prince of Reggae", and Brown would prove influential on future generations of reggae singers. AllMusic describe him as "a soulful and thrilling but often troubled roots reggae singer and master of lovers rock." In 1972, Brown began an association that would result in his breakthrough as an internationally successful artist; He was asked by Joe Gibbs to record an album for him, and one of the tracks recorded as a result, "Money in my Pocket", was a hit with UK reggae audiences and quickly became a favourite of his live performances. (This original version of "Money in my Pocket" was in fact produced by Winston "Niney" Holness on behalf of Gibbs, with musical backing from the Soul Syndicate.) In the same year, Brown performed as part of a Christmas morning showcase in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, along with Delroy Wilson, Scotty, Errol Dunkley, and the Fabulous Flames, where he was billed as the "Boy Wonder of Jamaica" and was considered the star of the show in a local newspaper review. "Money"'s popularity in the UK was further cemented with the release of a deejay version, "A-So We Stay (Money in Hand)", credited to Big Youth and Dennis Brown, which outsold the original single and topped the Jamaican singles chart. Brown and Holness became close, even sharing a house in Pembroke Hall. This may have been a factor in Brown being rumoured to be gay in some quarters, something he vigorously denied: he surrounded himself with beautiful women and had ten children. Brown followed this with another collaboration with Holness on "Westbound Train", which was the biggest Jamaican hit of summer 1973, and Brown's star status was confirmed when he was voted Jamaica's top male vocalist in a poll by Swing magazine the same year. Brown followed this success with "Cassandra" and "No More Will I Roam", and tracks such as "Africa" and "Love Jah", displaying Brown's Rastafari beliefs, became staples on London's sound system scene....(Read more) Links to Peel JP played Brown's music continually until 1993, and in 1978 featured three tracks in one show from the Wolf & Leopards LP. However, Brown's death from a collapsed lung on 01 July 1999 was not commemorated by John, and plays in the noughties were scant. Dennis had a top 20 UK hit in 1979 with a re-release of Money In My Pocket (on the Lightning label, making him a stable mate of Althea & Donna) and lower rung entries with Love Has Found Its Way and Halfway Up Halfway Down in 1982: none of these appeared on John's shows (according to available track listings), possibly because he found them too commercial. Festive Fifty Entries *None Sessions *None Other Shows Played ;1978 *17 February 1978: Boasting (LP - Wolf & Leopards) D.E.B. Music *17 February 1978: Children Of Israel (LP - Wolf & Leopards) D.E.B. Music *17 February 1978: Lately Girl (LP - Wolf & Leopards) D.E.B. Music *25 September 1978: Tribulation (single) Three In One with Jah Bop: starts at wrong speed *27 October 1978: Tribulation (12") 3 in 1 with Jah Bop ;1979 *09 July 1979: Girl I Got A Date (split 12" with Joe Gibbs & The Professionals - Girl I've Got A Date/Blind Date) Joe Gibbs Music with Trinity *14 July 1979 (BFBS): Man Next Door (7") Crazy Joe *24 July 1979: The Man Next Door (12” single) Joe Gibbs *20 August 1979: The Man Next Door (12") Joe Gibbs *25 August 1979 (BFBS): Cup Of Tea (7") Belmont *09 October 1979: The Man Next Door (12” single) Joe Gibbs ;1980 *24 January 1980: Don't Want To Be No General (7") Emmanuel Music *22 May 1980: Sitting And Watching (12") Taxi *31 May 1980 (BFBS): Sitting And Watching (single) Taxi *12 June 1980: Home Sweet Home (split 7" with Ranking Joe - Zion / Home Sweet Home) Cash & Carry *14 June 1980 (BFBS): Sitting And Watching (single) Taxi *15 December 1980: Bloody City (7") High Times featuring Aswad *20 December 1980 (BFBS): Bloody City (7") High Times featuring Aswad ;1981 *23 March 1981: The Little Village (JP: 'Even the technical staff are skanking to that one.') ;1982 *29 March 1982: Can I Change My Mind (7") Yvonne's Special *03 May 1982: Why Fools (12") Thompson Sound *26 May 1982: unknown *30 November 1982 / Karl's Tape Late November 1982: If I Didn't Love You (12") Thompson Sound ;1983 *26 February 1983 (BFBS): Revolution (12") Taxi *22 June 1983: My Love (7") Yvonne's Special *28 November 1983: Your Love Is A Blessing (12") Yvonne's Special ;1984 *17 October 1984: Bloody City (single) High Times ;1985 *04 June 1985: Let Off Sup'm (12") Greensleeves with Gregory Isaacs *30 July 1985: Love By The Score (LP – Slow Down) Greensleeves *03 December 1985: They Fight I (12" - Live And Love) Greensleeves ;1990 *24 January 1990: Death Before Dishonour (LP - Death Before Dishonour) Tappa *25 January 1990: Make Up Your Mind (7") Music Works *20 February 1990: Death Before Dishonour (7") Tappa *10 November 1990: Home Boy (12") Greensleeves *25 November 1990: Home Boy (12") Greensleeves *15 December 1990: Shepherd Be Careful (12") Greensleeves with Cocoa Tea ;1991 *05 January 1991: Shepherd Be Careful (12") Greensleeves with Cocoa Tea *02 June 1991: Warning (v/a album - One Man One Vote) Greensleeves with Bunny Rugs and Cocoa Tea ;1992 *11 April 1992: Wolf And Leopard (7") Observer *24 April 1992: True True True (7") Digital-B *03 May 1992 (BFBS): True True True (7") Digital-B *16 May 1992: 'Fever (LP-Blazing)' (Greensleeves) with Shabba Ranks and Maxi Priest *02 October 1992: Curfew - Don’t Like It *12 December 1992: 'Bone Lies (LP-Legit' (Anchor) with Cocoa Tea and Mutabaruka *19 December 1992: 'Bone Lies (LP-Legit' (Anchor) with Cocoa Tea and Mutabaruka ;1993 *22 January 1993: Can't Take Another Day (12 inch - split with Ronnie Thwaites / Chronicle ) Observer *07 February 1993 (BFBS): Can't Take Another Day (album - Cosmic Force) Heartbeat *27 February 1993: 'Dance Nah Keep (7")' (Greensleeves) with Junior Reid *12 March 1993: 'Dance Nah Keep (7")' (Greensleeves) with Junior Reid *08 May 1993: 'Name Brand (7")' (Observer) (JP: 'That’s a little bit of the label. I like to play you that from time to time as it’s a speciality of the programme.') *03 July 1993: ‘Look Into Yourself (LP – Friend For Life)’ (Black Scorpio) *10 July 1993: Righteousness (Single) Kingston 11 ;1996 *18 August 1996: Shaka The Warrior (Debwise Stable By Dennis Brown) (LP - Return To Umoja) Conqueror 2002 *18 April 2002 (Radio Eins): Meet Me At The Corner (7") ;2003 *04 March 2003: Funny Feeling Dub (Compilation LP - Flashing Echo: Trojan In Dub 1970-1980) Trojan *30 May 2003 (BBC World Service): Westbound Train *18 December 2003 (Radio Eins): The Man Next Door External Links *Wikipedia *AllMusic *http://www---- Other ;Footnotes Category:Artists